Here at HODINKEE HQ, we have been talking about the Powerball A LOT lately. We all (shamelessly) have bought tickets and are waiting with bated breath until the numbers are drawn tonight. Naturally, we all have talked about what we would do if we won and the obvious question has been, "What watch would you buy?" So here you have it, our tops picks of what watch (or watches) we would buy with the $1.5 billion winnings. What would you buy?

Here at HODINKEE HQ, we have been talking about the Powerball A LOT lately. We all (shamelessly) have bought tickets and are waiting with bated breath until the numbers are drawn tonight. Naturally, we all have talked about what we would do if we won and the obvious question has been, "What watch would you buy?" So here you have it, our tops picks of what watch (or watches) we would buy with the $1.5 billion winnings.

Nicholas Manousos – George Daniels' Space Traveller

If I win Powerball tonight and could splurge on any watch imaginable, I would attempt to purchase George Daniels' Space Traveller watch. I say attempt, because the Space Traveller is a one-of-a-kind watch that was last sold at auction on November 6, 2012 for 1,329,250 GBP. I would have to somehow find the current owner, and convince them to part ways with their unique piece of horological history. Finished in 1982, the Space Traveller is George Daniels' masterpiece. It epitomizes all of the qualities that Daniels famously explained a watch should have: it is historic, intellectual, technical, aesthetic, amusing, and useful. With that said, excuse me while I head to the corner store to get some Powerball tickets!

Oh, Powerball, you winsome little minx, will you be mine? Because I've got an idea what I'd do with some of that sweet sweet dough-re-mi (once I'm done getting the pot cut down, what with the tax man and all).

There are a ton of watches I'd have my eye on with that sort of a war chest, but the biggest thing I'd want to do is commission a piece. I've always wanted something bespoke from Roger Smith but I'm not sure what I have in mind is something he'd want to take on – Ateliers Cabinotiers, the Vacheron Constantin think-tank, might tackle it though. I've always wanted a very, very special pocket watch: a combination of chiming and astronomical complications. The watch in question would be a minute repeater with grand sonnerie, but it would also show the time for sunrise and sunset, as well as the correct date for the solstices and equinoxes, and it would also show the correct date for Easter. Here's the tricky part: at dawn on each of the solstices and equinoxes, as well as at sunrise each day, and at dawn on Easter Sunday, at the moment of sunrise the watch would sound a chime (tune TBD).

This would obviously be insanely expensive and probably take the better part of a decade to design and make, but what fun it would be. The potential deal-breaker here is that I would want a true mechanical computus for the date of Easter and it has never been done in a watch. The reason is that the sequence of Easter dates has a very long period before it repeats: 5,700,000 years –the Patek caliber 89 shows the date for Easter but it uses a program wheel which will eventually need to be replaced. I'd want something that actually does the calculation, like the astronomical cathedral clock in Strasbourg.

Cara Barrett – The Patek Philippe Henry Graves Jr. Supercomplication

Let’s see – if I win the lottery, I would buy multiple watches. I’d probably start off with a black dial Patek 2526 and somehow track down Alfredo Paramico’s pink gold 570. But the Big Kahuna would probably be the Henry Graves Jr. Supercomplication by Patek Philippe. Not only is it the most complicated watch ever made by hand, it is a beauty to behold in person. I spent a lot of time with this watch at Sotheby’s in the spring of 2014 and found it to be the most enchanting watch I had ever seen in person (you would have to be blind not to agree). In addition to being really, really good-looking, it is an incredible piece of horological history that has a fascinating story behind it (if you don’t know it you should read more about it here). Besides, I think it would be a strong investment seeing as it originally sold in 1999 for $11 million, and then a cool $24 million last year.

Kevin Rose – A Patek Philippe Reference 5204P

I had a chance to try this Patek Philippe Reference 5204 in platinum with black dial at the boutique in Geneva. It’s stunning in-person and the perfect size for me at 40 mm. I love how it looks and feels super stealth with the blacked out date.

Kiran Shekar – The Philippe Dufour Grande Sonnerie

This was a very easy choice for me. I would buy a Philippe Dufour Grande Sonnerie wristwatch. It's not the most expensive watch (would cost roughly $1 million). It's not a unique watch, since he's made somewhere in the ballpark of 10 of them. But it is quite simply the watch that I want the most. It is the ultimate watch from arguably the world's best watchmaker of the modern era. How could I want anything else? If that wasn't enough, it's got some historical cachet also from the fact that Dufour was the first person to ever make a grand sonnerie wristwatch. Oh, and it's only 41 mm in diameter – that's pretty svelte for a grand sonnerie.

If I ever were to win the Powerball I would treat myself with a watch that I could wear with delight every single day. For me, this special watch is a vintage chronograph from Patek Philippe, the reference 1463. The chronograph is arguably the most useful complication, and the reference 1463 delivers this function with a stunning manual-wound movement activated by the sunburst pushers characteristic of the waterproof cases from Borgel.

Actually, I would hunt for the exact same model that we covered two years ago: stainless-steel case, two-tone dial with long signature, and applied Breguet numerals. This watch is indeed a perfect mix of sporty and dressy design, while its 35 mm size makes it a dream to wear. There is said to be around 20 examples in that exact same configuration, so with a lot of luck and a couple of phone calls I shall have one on the wrist tomorrow.

Benjamin Clymer – Eric Clapton's Patek Philippe 2499P, And More...

As you can imagine, this is a really, really, like, really difficult question for me. There is an endless list of watches I dream of owning nightly – things like a steel 5004, a pink gold 6062, and an AP 5516 perpetual calendar are always up there. But, if I were to really win tonight’s Powerball lottery, and had endless amounts of income, there are a few pieces I would have to check off my list. Here they are, in no particular order:

The platinum 2499. Okay, there are two of them; one is in the museum, the other is in a private collection, so it is possible this watch comes up for sale again. Do I love the 2499? Sure. Is it the end all for me? Not really, but the one platinum example in the private space is that special, and couple that with the fact that it was the very first mega mega watch I got to see years ago and I remember that feeling so well, and it is a meaningful watch to me. I keep a framed poster of it on the wall near my desk.

A 1950s Vacheron minute repeater in platinum. I just think these are the most elegant, beautiful watches in the world. Vacheron was making insanely beautiful watches back then, and their minute repeaters were so thin and so beautiful. You see them come up in gold with some regularity, but seldom in platinum. They do exist, and I’d love to have one.

Steel 1518. There are five of these out there, and to own a perpetual calendar chronograph from Patek in steel from the 1940s is pretty much the end game. Though, to be honest I wonder if I would be even happier with a steel 530 chronograph with sector dial. Simpler, less expensive, larger diameter, and more under the radar.

Petite and Grand Sonnerie from Philippe Dufour. While I love the old stuff, Philippe’s sonnerie wristwatch is about as close to mechanical nirvana as one can get today. He has made just a few of them, and they are simply divine. Add that to the fact that Mr. Dufour is simply one of the nicest people in all of watches, and this one rests high on my list.

Finally, I would say that these four watches are insanely expensive. And no matter the amount of money I had, I’m not sure I would ever spend that much on a wristwatch. I think on some level, I would be quite happy with a special Lange 1, a steel 1463 like Louis, and in a perfect world, a platinum 2526 with black enamel dial.